Laparascopic surgery is a genre of endoscopic surgery which is used to perform abdominal surgery, e.g., gall bladder removal. Laparascopic surgery, like many other types of endoscopic surgery, is often preferred over conventional surgery because laparascopic surgery is less invasive than conventional surgery. As a consequence, laparascopic surgery can be performed in less time and at less cost per procedure than conventional abdominal surgery, and it reduces patient recovery time from weeks to days.
In laparascopic surgery, a plurality of tubes are advanced into the patient's abdomen through percutaneous entry sites. The distal end of each tube is positioned in the patient's abdomen as appropriate for the intended function of the tube. One tube is ordinarily used to establish a working channel through which an appropriate endoscopic instrument, e.g., an endoscopic forceps, scalpel, or retractor, can be advanced to the surgery site to perform the particular procedure. Yet another tube may be used to establish a working channel for insufflating the patient's abdomen, while another tube may be used to establish a working channel for irrigating the surgery site. Also, a tube is typically positioned in the abdomen to establish a working channel for fiber optics, for viewing the interior of the abdomen during the procedure.
To provide for inserting each tube into the patient, a trocar having a sharpened distal end is positioned within the lumen of the tube. The sharpened distal end of the trocar protrudes beyond the distal end of the tube, so that the sharpened distal end can establish a pathway during advancement of the trocar with tube along which the tube can be advanced. When the tube has been positioned as desired, the trocar is retrieved from the lumen of the tube.
Not surprisingly, great care must be taken when advancing the trocar into the patient, to avoid inadvertently cutting or puncturing tissue or organs which should not be cut or punctured. This is particularly true in the case of the first-positioned trocar, which is advanced into the patient prior to positioning a fiber optic into the patient for viewing the interior of the abdomen.
Further, even after a fiber optic has been positioned in the abdomen, the path along which the trocar is to be advanced may not be visible on the video monitor that is connected to the fiber optic, because tissue may be interposed between the fiber optic and the trocar. Thus, the present invention recognizes that when positioning a trocar during endoscopic surgery it would be advantageous to provide a viewing system which can display the path of advancement of the trocar to the surgeon as the trocar is being advanced into the patient.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a trocar which can percutaneously be advanced into a patient by a surgeon who can view the path of advancement on a nearby video monitor. Another object of the present invention is to provide a trocar which is easy to use and safely position within a patient. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a trocar which is cost-effective to manufacture.